Dragons Stay Unbeaten in CAA Play With 78-74 Win Against Monmouth

Thursday, January 18

Philadelphia, Pa.

7 p.m.

Drexel University

13-6,6-0CAA

Monmouth

9-9,2-3CAA

Monmouth

Drexel

Dragons Stay Unbeaten in CAA Play With 78-74 Win Against Monmouth

1/18/2024 9:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Okros seals the comeback with a pair of free throws with 10 seconds to play

PHILADELPHIA – Mate Okros drained a pair of free throws with 10 seconds left as Drexel rallied from a 15-point deficit to defeat Monmouth, 78-74 on Thursday night in the Daskalakis Athletic Center. With the victory Drexel remained perfect in CAA play at 6-0. It is the first time since the 1995-96 season that the Dragons won their first six conference games of the season.

Drexel (13-6) fell behind early as Monmouth started the game off red hot from the floor. The Hawks (9-9, 2-3 CAA) started the game on a 15-6 run and increased their lead to 26-11 midway through the first half. Drexel wasn't able to cut into the lead until late in the half. The deficit was cut to nine when Lucas Monroe scored at the five-minute mark. Drexel's defense held the Hawks to just one field goal over the final 5:49 of the half and, despite Monmouth shooting 54 percent in the half, the Dragons trailed by just five points after Justin Moore set up Amari Williams for a dunk with just two seconds to go.

Monmouth held the lead until Okros sank a pair of free throws with 9:49 to play, giving Drexel a 60-58 lead. That lead lasted for 31 seconds as Jakari Spence scored on a driving lay-up to tie it. There were five lead changes in the second half and the score was tied on seven occasions. Drexel still trailed by one with less than four minutes after Abdi Bashir, Jr. sank a 3-pointer from the corner. On Drexel's next possession, Justin Moore, who had a rare tough night from the floor, drained a deep 3-pointer late in the shot clock to put Drexel up for good at 72-70 with three minutes to go. A minute later, Williams grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to extend the lead to four. The Dragons then made four straight free throws in the final 20 seconds, two by Williams and two by Okros, to extend their winning streak to six games.

Williams picked up his sixth double-double of the year with a season-high 21 points and 11 rebounds. Okros added 17 points and was a perfect 12-for-12 from the free throw line. Kobe MaGee made an impact off the bench, draining a pair of 3-pointers and finishing with 12 points.

Drexel entered the game shooting 44 percent from long range in CAA games, but was held to just 32 percent from the floor. Despite the physicality in the game, Drexel committed just three turnovers. That tied the school record for least turnovers in a CAA game.

Xander Rice led everyone with 27 points. The graduate transfer was held to just 8-for-22 from the floor and 3-for-12 from long range. He missed just one of his nine free throw attempts. Jaret Valencia and Jack Collins each had nine points.

There were 43 fouls called in the game, 26 of those coming over the final 20 minutes. Both teams took advantage of their free throws. The Dragons made 25 of their 29 attempts (.862), while the Hawks were 18-for-21 (.857). Drexel was once again dominant on the glass, outrebounding the Hawks by 15. The Dragons had a season-high 20 offensive rebounds with Williams and Luke House each coming up with four.

Drexel is back in the DAC on Saturday afternoon for Homecoming. The Delaware Blue Hens make their annual visit for a 2 p.m. contest that can be seen live on NBC Sports Philadelphia+.